Warwick pulls away from Ephrata in the third

Photo by Les Martzall
Warwick senior Marc Wiczkowski turns up ice and looks to break out of the Warriors' defensive zone in their 9-4 victory over the Mounts on Monday.Photo by Les Martzall
Warwick senior Marc Wiczkowski turns up ice and looks to break out of the Warriors' defensive zone in their 9-4 victory over the Mounts on Monday.

In a game closer than the final score indicates, Warwick defeated Ephrata 9-4 in ice hockey on Monday at Lancaster Ice Rink.

Warwick’s Casey Witmyer had four goals and two assists. Trevor Seibel had two goals for the Mounts. Ephrata goalie Dylan Bowen made 34 saves despite allowing nine goals on 43 shots.

The contest started out well for the Mounts as they outplayed Warwick throughout the first period and had a two-goal lead by the end courtesy of Seibel. Ephrata applied early pressure and 2:22 into the game converted when Seibel tapped home a rebound of Alex Findley’s shot.

"We dumped (the puck) in and Alex Findley put it out in front," recalled Seibel. "Josh (Buohl) was tipping it and it came to me. With the slightest tap, I put it through his legs. It was just one of those lucky goals."

Buohl and Findley picked up the assists.

Momentum shifted between the teams throughout the period but Ephrata scored the second goal with 3:49 left. The goal came from down in close like before when Seibel lifted a puck to the top of the net. Findley and Buohl picked up assists again.

"Alex Findley was behind the net to get the "d" not looking," said Seibel. "He came around on the short side. I called for it, he gave it to me and I went top shelf with it."

Seibel said the puck hit Steven Jostes’ glove before going in and felt Jostes could have saved it had his line not forced him to move.

"If he was looking out front, he probably would have (saved) it."

Ephrata Coach Kevin Davis was pleased with his team performance, especially in the first period.

"Our game stepped up offensively," said Davis. "We tried a couple different line set ups and it was working. We put the pedal to the metal there."

Adam Wood, filling in for Warwick Head Coach Gary Baylor, felt his team lacked competitive fire through the first.

"We were asleep there," Wood said. "We left our marks, we weren’t making good, smart passes and it cost us. The fortunate thing for us is we fought back and we have the skill to do that."

That skill set began to show in the second as the Warriors controlled the period as the Mounts controlled the first. With 1:01 gone, the Mounts took a tripping penalty and the Warriors began to play their style of hockey. Ephrata killed the penalty but not until Bowen made saves on straight and redirected shots.

With 8:40 left, the Warriors first cracked the wall Bowen made in front of the net when Brogan Galbreath converted Witmyer’s pass from the right corner into the net for his first goal of the season. Witmyer pulled his team even at the 5:12 mark with Mitchell Hill getting the assist. Aaron Wright put Warwick ahead with 1:50 left in the second with Drew White and Marc Wiczkowski assisting.

Warwick finished the second with a 3-2 lead and a 29-10 lead in shots but did not feel comfortable with the one-goal lead and Wood credited Bowen.

"He kept them in the game," said Wood, "but we were confident we would get our chances." However, it was the Mounts who first converted their opportunity when Buohl helped create a turnover in the Warwick zone. He then shot home Findley’s pass and his third assist of the game for Ephrata’s tying goal.

Witmyer’s shot from the point put Warwick up 4-3 with 12:34 left in the contest but it was his hat trick goal at 11:04 that eventually became the game winner.

"It was a blind shot and I just wanted to get the shot on the net," said Witmyer. "It went through the bottom left pad and somehow slipped through."

Seibel’s younger brother Alex scored Ephrata’s fourth on the power play to pull the Mounts within one at 5-4 with 7:26 left with Buohl and Carson Good assisting; however, Warwick goals from Wright, Drew White, Nathan Weaver and Witmyer allowed the Warriors to pull away for the final score.

Ephrata resumes the season against Red Land on Friday and Warwick goes against Manheim Township on Monday. More SKATERS, page B-6